I just got my injectors back from Injector Rehab (who are great people btw!) and installed them tonight. Did everything by the book there, got everything hooked up and reinstalled the way it was before. Needless to say, the car ran fine before I took the injectors out.

In any case, my roommate comes out to start the car for me so I can stand at the passenger side fender and keep an eye on the area around the injectors to make sure everything is ok. He engages the starter and before the engine even has a chance to start turning over there is an awful crack/pop sound. (It startled the **** out of me, so I honestly can't say where it came from, but I think it was towards the rear of the engine.)

After some consultation with Stealth97, I tried turning the crank by hand, I could get it to turn smoothly and then it would reach a point where it would stop and not go any further, no matter how much force was applied. It could spin back around the other way but would then reach a similar stopping point.
Then he suggested testing for hydrolock, and I found that there was fuel on the cyl. #1 plug, but not on any of the others. So leaving the plugs out, and disconnecting the CAS, I attempted to turn the engine over. I engaged the starter and it sounded like it was moving freely for a split second, and then reached that stopping point, and would not spin anymore. And now the crank will not turn at all in either direction by hand. Hitting the starter only results in what I can only describe as the starter trying to turn, but just not being able to at all.

So, what's the problem here?
We thought that there might be something bound up in the transmission, or worst case scenario, I bent the **** out of a rod (I'm hoping not of course). I can't get under the car here, too low and I'm on a gravel driveway, so the earliest I can tow my car to the shop at work is this weekend.

 

can u bend a rod with a starter??? i dont think so, but im just guessing?

 

I don't honestly think so, but with my luck lately, I'm not ruling it out. The fact that the crank will not turn at all now has me worried about it. But I'm really threw that out there just to get people's minds going with what could be wrong.

 

Weird, I was going to say if you tried turning it by hand with the plugs in it could be difficult but the whole thing freezing up is bizarre. Nothing fell in the combustion chamber?

 

No, I sealed it off when I took the injectors out, and the spark plugs are intact.
And the engine does have oil in it too. Meant to have that info in there as well.

 

sounds like a broken starter. possibly a broken tooth. stock flywheel?

 

OEM starter, FM flywheel.
I considered the starter being the issue until I got it to start turning over like it normally did, up until the point it just stopped. Now that everything is completely stuck, I don't know. In any case, it's going to be the starting point of my investigation when I get the car up on a rack.

 

Pull starter first and inspect all teeth.
If it looks good, check the teeth on the FM fw and try turning motor by hand now.

 

just to confirm, you turned it by hand with ALL the spark plugs out, right?

 

No, not the first time. After that, yes, and it was still doing the same thing. Why?

 

My friend broke a gear in the gearbox on an old Opel once, which locked up the tranny and the engine. He could turn his engine if he pressed down the clutch, but not if he just left it in neutral. A quick thing to test...

 

If a cylinder were filled with fuel, and the spark plugs were in, that would explain why you couldn't turn it over by hand. With them out, the fuel would have an escape route. You probably knicked an o-ring when installing the injector. It's odd that you still can't crank it, I'd don't see the starter being able to bend a rod.

C

 

Yeah, i would try to turn it over by hand with the clutch in.

 

Tried with the clutch in last night. No effect. Still completely stuck.

Even with plugs in, it would turn by hand. However, it would reach that stopping point, and the same thing happened with the plugs out. However, it never made a full revolution anyway. I'm sure nothing went wrong with the injector install, I spent a lot of time and attention to make 110% sure.

 

I think it is something with the starter/flywheel engagement. It is just a wierd coincidence that it happened right after an injector install. Pull your starter and check the teeth as others have stated. If it wont turn with the starter off and the clutch pushed in, your f'ed.

 

I agree with Brian, but first do pull the plugs and inspect for fuel in the cylinders. Probably a starter issue though.

 

Judging from the "crack/pop sound" thing, I agree it's the starter or flywheel. You sheared a tooth, and it's jammed in there. Hope it's just the starter, as that should be easier to replace.

 

Pop crack and sizzle sounds like an electrical issue.... then no starter movement, I would follow that route too.
Goodluck

 

Already did that as mentioned in the first post. Cyl #1 definitely had a lot of fuel in it. The spark plug was covered in fuel. The rest were dry. Hoping for a starter issue though.

Me too. Thanks.

No sizzle ever mentioned. Everything electrical is fine. No popped fuses, etc. The starter is trying to turn the flywheel, but for some reason cannot. The pop/crack sound was definitely metallic.

 

Well, just to ease my mind, I put an optic scope down each of the spark plug holes tonight. Everything inside each cylinder looked normal, nothing on top of the pistons except some carbon, and no sign of any problems or any pieces of anything.
So the next step is getting my buddy's car trailer and taking the car up to work tomorrow to get it on a lift and get the starter off.